U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,973 (Perry), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a known prior art takeout mechanism for a multiple cavity glass container forming machine of the I.S. type. A takeout mechanism of this type includes a plurality of spaced apart takeout elements, usually called tongs, arranged in a straight line and carried by common structure, for simultaneously grasping a multiplicity of freshly formed glass containers at their final molding positions at a section of an I.S. machine and transferring the containers to a dead plate for cooling and further processing. In the teachings of the 1973 patent, each of the containers is grasped by the takeout tongs below the level of a bead, which is often called a transfer bead, that is positioned just below the threaded or otherwise configured closure receiving portion on the neck of the container, which is often referred to as the finish of the container. In the practice of the invention of the '973 patent, the mold halves defining the mold cavity in which the container was blown were caused to part before the container was engaged by the tongs, and this made it possible for the container to tilt if needed to accommodate any slight misalignment between the container and the takeout tongs intended to grasp such container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,581 (Perry), the disclosure of which is also incorporated by reference herein, contains a further description of a known prior art takeout tong mechanism for a multiple cavity I.S. glass container forming machine.
Modern glass container forming practice has eliminated the need for including a transfer bead in each container being formed by designing tongs with complementary internally threaded container engaging elements, so as to be able to engage a container by its externally threaded finish rather than below its transfer bead. This technique, however, makes precise vertical positioning of the tong elements much more important than it was when the tong elements were used to grasp a container below its transfer bead. Further, to speed up the container forming process, it is now preferred to have the takeout tong elements grasp the container before the mold halves have parted. This makes precise positioning of the tongs relative to the container in a horizontal plane more important than it was when the tongs were used to remove containers that were free to tilt to accommodate misalignment with the tongs, and the need to prevent such misalignment is especially important in I.S. machines equipped to simultaneously form three (triple gob) or four (quad) containers at each machine section, since the requisite degree of alignment in such a situation cannot always be achieved simply by adjusting the positions of the tongs in unison.